Afterschool Charisma Vol. 8by Patti MartinsonReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Publisher
Credits Grade: 7 St. Kleio is an exclusive academy in which all the students are clones of historical figures: Hitler, Joan of Arc, Marie Curie, etc. In this volume, St. Kleio is attacked by anti-clone madmen and Joan of Arc is killed. Shiro learns he is a clone of the founder of the academy and he is supposed to be its leader. Shiro believes he is responsible for the attack and attempts to abdicate his leadership. Other forces want otherwise.I'm ambivalent about the idea of clones of historical figures, as all the clones are teenagers and don't appear to resemble the original historical figures physically or personality-wise. Having a teenage Hitler clone seems absurd on its face, and I don't see much value in a Hitler clone despite the reasons given for their existence in this manga. It does raise some moral issues, however, that might not have surfaced if the students were ordinary clones (so to speak), as there is discussion on history repeating itself and the ultimate destiny of the clones. Are they individuals in their own right or are they doomed to the fates of their historical namesake? While I wasn't too interested in the clones themselves as characters, I did find the machinations of the people around them to be intriguing. The constant battles between various factions to control, manipulate or otherwise use the clones for various purposes almost more interesting than the characters of the clones themselves. Shiro seems interesting, but only in the sense of him trying to figure out how to navigate around the people who want to use him. It is the same with Hitler, who appears to be becoming the darling of the media. Interesting issues are raised about them, although they didn't seem all that interesting as people to me. I am curious as to where all this is leading, which speaks well to the series, if nothing else. Written: October 26, 2013
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